Wall construction and clip therefor



June 9, 1953 N. NELSSON 2,641,035

WALL CONSTRUCTION AND CLIP THEREFOR Filed March 4, 1950 Patented June 9,1953 oFFIc-E WALL CONSTRUCTION AND CLIP THEREFOR NelsNels son. Chicago,IlL, assignor to United States Gypsum Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois ApplicationMar-ch l, 1950,- Serial No.- 147,133

This inventionrelates to wall constructionsand more particularly to thattypekno'wn asfurred.

walls. It relates'also to an improved form of clip used to secure thefurre'd wallmembers t the furring strips or wall supports.

Furred walls are employed ordinarily to afford a straight even exposedwall surface or to provide anair space between the" base wall and'thefurred wall for purposes ofsound and "heat insulation, or topresenflmatching surfaces at partitions. Anumber of systems havebeendeveloped to obtain a. furred wall, many :or which systemsemploywoodenstrips secured to thelbase wall to which strips the finishing orfurre'd'wall elements "aresecured. Other systems employ metal furring' strips orsupporting members, clips being used to secure the turret! wallelementsto the furring' members. It is to the latter type of furred wall"construction that the present invention relates.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a furred wallconstruction which may be readily and easilyerected and which willafforda secure connection between the furred 'wall' elements and. the furringstrips.

It is a'further object of the invention to provide a furred wallconstruction which is particularly adapted for use in connection withwall boards of the lath type, such as gypsum or plaster lath, fiberboard,and other similar wallelements which are'manufactured in sheet orpanel form.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of clipwhereby the wall boards may be readilysecured to the furring memberswith the wall boards in coplanar edge to edge relationship.

Other advantages will appear to those skilled in this art as thedescription proceeds.

The invention wil be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this application, in which the same numeralsrefer to corresponding parts. In the drawings Figure 1 is across sectionthrough a wall'construction embodying the preferred form of theinvention, the section'being taken through the adjoining edges of twowall boards witlitheimproved clip shown in plan view;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view disclosing the improved clip appliedto afurringjstrip and wall boards, the clip'being shown in full lines, theremainder of the construction being shown in dotted lines;

4 Claims. (Cl. 24-73) Fig.4 is asectional perspective view of theimproved wall constructionas viewed" from the front or exposedsurfacelof 'the furred wall;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the clip as viewed in the direction ofarrow"); in Fig. 3.; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation of the clip asfviewed in the direction of arrowYinFig. 4.

Reierringnow to'thedrawings in which one practical embodiment of theinventionis illustrated, thebase 'wall'is shown at In. This may be ofconcrete, brick, wood, or any other construction. To the inner side ofthe base 'wallllfl are secured in spacedparallel relationship iurringstrips i 1, preferably in the form of steel channels such as arefrequently used in' this type of wall "construction. The "furrin'gstrips may, of course, beforme'd "of any metal or of wood of sufficientrigidity, the samebeing secured to the base wall itbysuitable'securingbrackets l2 and tie wires l3. The'jdetailsof thelatter construe.- tion form no part or the present inventiomas anysuitable means mayj -be employed for securin the fur-ring strips to thebase wall.

Resting against the front or exposed sides oi the'furrin'g strips arethe'wallboarcls" Man'd .M' which, in the drawings, are shown as plasteror gypsumboards which'areiorme'd of a gypsum coredisposedbe'tween paperliners. "Oi course any type of wall jboardsin sheetor' panel form, suchas those made ofjwood fiber, asbestos, and the like, may be used. p

The'wall boards Hi and 14' are arranged in coplanar edgeto edgerelationship upon the furring strips and-are secured theerto by clips{'5 which may "be arranged at suitable intervals along'the edges'of saidboards at. the points of their'registratio'n wlththe furring strips. Theclips 15' are .preferably' made ofa relatively stout resilientroun'dsteel wire, although the wire may, of course, varycross section and maybeformed of any suitable'material having sufficient strength andresilience. Each clip is formed of an intermediateor sharilrportion H5which-is adapted, when the clip .is in use, to pass through the jointbetween the adjacent edges Lof adjoining wall boards, as bestseeninFigs. 1 and4. The length.

of the shank [6 corresponds substantially with the thickness of thewall-boards with which it is used.

'At the rearward end of said shank-is formed an attaching hook whichcomprises an extension I? whichextends angularly or obliquely fromsaidshank and whichextension, whenthe clip is in use, isadaptedto rest-uponthe upper side of the.

furring strip. Extending downwardly from the rear end of the extensionI! and at right angles thereto is a hook portion l8 which is adapted toengage behind the furring strip so as to anchor the clip thereto. Anoffset detent t9 at the lower end of the portion P8 is adapted to engageunder the furring strip so as to hold the hook in engagement therewith.The angle A formed between the shank l6 and the extension II, as seen inFig. 1, is preferably about 45, although this may vary, it having beenfound that any angle between 30 and 70 is suitable. The angulardisposition of the extension I! with respect to the shank 16 will varysomewhat with the width of the furring strip with which it is designedto be used.

At the front end of the shank I6 is a U-shaped loop, the plane of theloop being perpendicular to the shank. Said loop is formed of twosubstantially parallel legs, 20 and 2|, connected by the bight 22. Theleg 20 is disposed in the same plane as the shank l6 and the extensionII. The leg 2| is longer than the leg 20 so that when the clipis in usethe loop thereof will rest flatly against the front face of the edgeportion of one of the adjoiningwall boards While the free end of the leg2| will span the joint between the boards and engage against the frontface of the edge portion of the other board, as best seen in Figs. 1 and4. The terminal portion 23 of the leg 2| is bent outwardly slightly soas to facilitate engagement of the board edge therewith.

It will be observed that the extension [I and the leg 20 of the lopextend from the same side of the shank It so that the bight 22 of theloop is directly opposite the furring-strip-engaging portion 18. That isto say, when the clip is in position, a line drawn through the portion18 and the bight 22 of the loop will be substantially parallel with theshank I6. With this arrangement a clamping action is developed betweenthe clip and the furring strip and wall board M, which serves tosecurely hold these parts in assembled relation.

The angular disposition of the portion l! of the clip with respect tothe shank [6, that is to say the angle A, is important in order toinsure a clamp-like grip of the clip with the furring member and wallboard. While this angle can vary within a wide range, it has been found,as before indicated, that about 45 is satisfactory where the clip isused with a furring channel and wall board 1;" thick. With the channeland wall board of the dimensions indicated, and with the extensionportion ll of the clip disposed at a 45 angle, as indicated, the bight22 of the loop. [5 is directly opposite the portion I8 of the clip whichengages behind the furring channel. However, this is not critical forthe loop can be relatively longer or shorter than shown which, ofcourse, will vary the relative position of the bight thereof withrespect to the portion [8 of the hook of the clip. With a wider furringmember and the same loop, a line drawn from the bight through theportion l 8 would not be parallel with the shank [6 of the clip. Thedimensions of the clip must be such as to enable the loop portionthereof to snugly engage the wall board and the hook portion of the clipto snugly engage over and behind the furring member to produce theclamping action which will hold these parts in secure relation with eachother. Channel furring strips and gypsum wall board are manufacturedwithin fairly close dimensional tolerances and the clip may, therefore,be designed with the dimensions of these parts in mind. Where differentwidths of furring members and different thicknesses of wall board areemployed, it will, of course, be necessary to vary the dimensions anddetails of the clip to accommodate the same to such furring members andwall boards, in order to obtain the best results. At the present time,however, 4" channels and gypsum wall board V thick are in general use sothat clips designed with these dimensions in mind will function properlywith the majority of structures. The clips are of such construction asto lend themselves to ready manufacture in various sizes and proportionsand with a changed angle A in order to accommodate the clips to othersizes of furring members and wall boards.

In the structure illustrated in the drawings the furring strips arehorizontally disposed and the wall boards vertically. It is, of course,understood that the clips are also usable where the furring strips aredisposed vertically and the wall boards horizontally.

In use the wall boards are usually supplied with a fiinishing coat ofplaster, which coat, of course, covers the exposed portions of theclips. Inasmuch as a finishing plaster coat is normally employed withthe construction in question it is preferable to employ wall boardshaving an exposed surface of paper or of such character that a plastercoat will readily adhere thereto.

With clips of the construction described, wall boards may be readily andquickly attached to furring strips by workmen of very ordinary skill. Bythe use of such clips the boards and the furring strips will beeffectively clamped together and the completed furred wall will be rigidand firm. Moreover the clips are so constructed as to permit of readyand economical manufacture.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, but desire to availmyself of such modifications as come within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A clip for securing wall boards arranged in coplanar edge-to-edgerelationship to one edge of a furring member, said clip comprising anintermediate portion adapted to be disposed in the joint between twoadjoining boards, a board-engaging portion at one end of saidintermediate portion in the form of a loop of substantially U shape withthe bight portion of said loop adapted to rest flatly against the frontsurface of one of said boards and with one of the legs of said looplonger than the other and adapted to rest against the front surface ofthe other board, and means at the opposite end of said intermediateportion adapted to engage the inner edge of said furring member, saidintermediate portion being bent adjacent the outer edge of said furringmember in such a direction that said means lie substantially directlyinwardly of a part of the board engaging portion overlying one of saidboards, whereby said clip includes a U-shaped construction capable ofclamping said one board to said furring member independent of anotherabutting board.

2. A clip for securing wall boards arranged in coplanar edge-to-edgerelationship to the outer edge of a furring member, said clip comprisinga head for spanning the joint between adjacent boards and to overlie theedge portions of two boards adjacent said joint, a shank portion forextending inwardly through said joint and to the inner edge of saidfurring member, and a hook portion for engaging the inner edge of saidfurring member, said shank portion being bent adjacent the outer edge ofsaid furring member in such a direction that said hook portion lies substantially directly inwardly of a portion of said head overlying onewall board, whereby said hook portion, said shank portion, and saidportion of said head may clamp said one wall board to said furringmember independent of another abutting wall board.

3. A clip for securing wall boards arranged in coplanar edge-to-edgerelationship to the outer edge of a furring member, said clip comprisinga head for spanning the joint between adjacent boards and to overlie theedge portions of two boards adjacent said joint, a shank portion forextending inwardly through said joint and to the inner edge of saidfurring member, and a hook portion for engaging the inner edge of saidfurring member, said shank portion being bent adjacent the outer edge ofsaid f urring member in such a direction that said hook portion liessubstantially directly inwardly of aportion of said head overlying onewall board, whereby said clip includes a U-shaped construction capableof clamping said one wall board to said furring member, independent ofanother abutting wall board.

4. A wire clip for securing wall boards arranged in coplanar edge-toedge relationship to the outer edge of a furring member, said clipcomprising an intermediate portion for extending directly inwardlythrough the joint between said boards, a head portion at the outer endof said intermediate portion for spanning said joint and to overlie theedge portions of said boards adjacent said joint, an angled portionextending generally inwardly from the inner end of said intermediateportion at an acute angle with respect to the plane of said joint, saidintermediate portion and said angled portion defining a planesubstantially perpendicular to the plane of said joint, and a hookportion for engaging the inner edge of said furring member, said hookportion extending from the inner end of said angled portion in adirection perpendicular to a parallel of said intermediate portion andat a substantial angle to the plane defined by said intermediate portionand said angled portion, said angled portion, said intermediate portion,and a part of said head portion adapted to overlie one of said boardsforming a generally U- shaped construction whereby a part of said hookportion is arranged directly inwardly of a part of said head portion andwhereby a single board may be clamped to said furring strip independentof another abutting board.

NELS NELSSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 699,685 Howard May 13, 1902 1,106,653 Hollingsworth Aug. 11,1914 1,969,244 Venzie Aug. '7, 1934 1,974,819: Koerner Sept. 25, 19342,307,899 Olsen Jan. 12, 1943

